Book review

1 book was reviewed: PASSIVE MACROMODELING: Theory and Applications; Stefano Grivet-Talogia and Bjorn Gustavsen; 2016.

Although the results are not yet all that could be desired they are full of promise, and the process is likely to be of distinct value to the zoologist. No doubt if we take the common forms dissection is preferable. But radiography is not to supersede, but to supplement dissection. And there are many forms which are not common, but exceedingly rare. The fortunate possessor of one of these rare forms, well preserved in formalin, can ill afford to mar its beauty by even partial dissection. Radiography will enable him, without any injury to the entire organism, to determine the nature and relations of its skeletal parts. As the author points out, the figured radiograms afford considerable help in distinguishing between two closely allied species, Asterias rubens and Murvayi. The radiogram of Astropecten irregularis, With its markedly lateral madreporite, is particularly good. In the letterpress to this work, which is issued as a supplement to the Archives of the Roentgen Ray, Dr. Wolfenden has given a clear account of the methods he employs, and a brief description of the genera and species he has submitted to the Rontgen ray. It only remains to add that the plates are produced in admirable style, to congratulate the author on a good piece of work, and to wish him success in its further developments.
Elementary Physiology for Nurses. By C. F. Marshall, Pp. 89. London : The Scientific Press, Limited. 1897.? " it is any advantage to nurses to have a smattering of physi-^?gy they could not do better than begin by reading this little hook, which gives a brief but fairly clear outline of the main functions of the various organs and tissues. The diagrams are helpful, and the descriptions of the circulation, digestion, &c., are good, so that a mere beginner can get some idea of the Subject without great difficulty. Those, however, who have had experience of the teaching of physiology realise how hard *t_is for the average student or nurse to get a real understanding the subject from such condensed manuals.
. The Means by which the Temperature of the Body is mainallied in Health and Disease, being the Croonian Lectures, 1897. increased production of heat, and sometimes to a diminution of the loss. (2) In the present state of our knowledge animal calorimetry is very difficult, and the results obtained from calorimeters must be received very guardedly, especially when they are applied to man. (3) In some forms of pyrexia in which the production of heat is increased, the metabolism leading to this takes place in the proteid tissues of the body, and probably the metabolic processes concerned in a pathological rise of temperature are different from those of health. An interesting question is discussed whether or not pyrexia is a protective mechanism, and, if so, whether it might be a good thing to administer to fevered patients drugs that would raise their temperature, inasmuch as there are pyretic drugs as well as antipyretics. We must confess to a decided preference for the antipyretics, which do not appear to receive all the credit which their merits deserve. Rabagliati writes in a serious vein, and accordingly we feel bound to criticise his work in a similar spirit, but we must confess that as we read through the pages the conclusion was forced upon us that the author was attempting a joke under the cloak of a semi-scientific publication. There is, however, a certain amount of pleasure and excitement in reading the theories of a man who attributes all diseases to a common cause.
One wonders what disease will next be worked in, and in what way; how he will extricate himself out of some pathological slough, and come up smiling, and prove that he got into it only from his arguments. In a most ingenious way, starting from one disease, which the author declares to be due to excessive ingestion of amylaceous and saccharine food, he conclusively?to his mind but not to ours?proves that such remotely connected diseases as bronchitis, cancer, abscess of the liver, cerebral hemorrhage, and carbuncle are all due to the same cause. This is certainly a triumph of scientific reasoning of the authorship of which no one will try and rob Dr. Rabagliati.
In spite of this balderdash, the book contains some smart and clever sayings, but being mixed up with a lot of trash these will probably not receive the attention they merit. The most important of them is the Bradshaw lecture on the hand, which he delivered so long ago as 1881. Although this does not contain anything with which we are not familiar, the arrangement of the various points is excellent. The papers on "Professional neuroses" are exceedingly interesting, and include notices of writer's cramp, tailor's cramp, goldbeater s cramp, hammerman's cramp, the conditions which interfere with piano-playing, and sawyer's cramp. These are all well described.
It seems almost a pity that these chapters should have been mixed up with other subjects of a different nature.
The author's remarks on the deep reflexes in spinal myelitis are good, as are also those on various forms of poisoning, one of which, auto-intoxication, is interesting, as here insensibility way suddenly supervene on extreme muscular exertion. The other essays in the book are all good of their kind. There is something to be learned from them all. They range from gout following influenza, the relation of albuminuria to life-assurance, congenital and chronic heart disease, to the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis, tumour of the lung, the sulphur waters of the Pyrenees, and laryngeal spasm. The same, to a large extent, may be said of No. 2, although less space is assigned to pharmaceutical detail, and We should think the pamphlet would be valuable to students going up for examination in pharmacology and medicine.
3, issued by a local firm, appeals strictly to practitioners, and is very compact and concise ; it assumes a knowledge of the ?ld edition of the B. P., presenting information only respecting the alterations and additions and changes in nomenclature mcorporated in the new B. P. We gladly commend the book. 4 has much also to recommend it: in form it is still more compact; it gives a practically complete synopsis of the 1898 and gives also what that work does not, as it ought to have done, the doses in metric as well in imperial measure, .here are also tables of weights and measures, and other useful lnformation, and it is a very valuable little book. the much abused subject of massage may be looked upon as a scientific exposition of the practice by one who is a complete master both of its theory and applications, i.e., by "one who is at the same time a practitioner of medicine and a practical masseur." This combination rarely exists, the physician or surgeon seldom becomes an expert masseur, and the masseur no matter how expert is often lacking in scientific knowledge. Too much of what is called massage is mere unscientific rubbing of different varieties, and is often calculated to be more for the financial benefit of the operator rather than for the therapeutic advantage of the patient. The author " has a high appreciation of massage as a remedial agent of special effectiveness that comparatively few know or recognise at present; but if it is to take this place the manipulations in difficult cases must be practised by the doctor himself, not by any necessarily less educated person." He considers that in many cases the ordinary application of the remedy may well and rightly be confided to skilful manipulators acting under the supervision of medical practitioners, but that in other conditions, more especially in diseases of the gastro-intestinal tract, automatic massage by unskilled lay hands may be fraught with disaster. The main object of the book is to foster a wider acquaintance and a closer intimacy with the uses and limitation of massage amongst medical practitioners, and the fact that a second edition has been so soon required is good evidence that the book must be attaining this object. The Oxygen Treatment for Wounds, Ulcers, Burns, Scalds, Lupus, and Diseases of the Nose, Eye, and Ear. By George ?Stoker. Pp. 39. London: Bailliere, Tindall & Cox. 1897.? Oxygen is evidently Dr. Stoker's hobby; he looks upon it as a panacea for all evils. In the treatment of ulcers with it he claims rapid relief from pain, absence of smell, avoidance of exuberant granulation, very rapid healing, and a resultant scar not composed of ordinary cicatricial tissue. We must admit, on looking over some of his cases at the Oxygen Home, that we were not convinced on all these points, and that some cases that had been under treatment for many weeks were not more advanced in healing than one might reasonably have expected on ordinary surgical treatment, and if to this we might add Thiersch's grafting we think we could give oxygen points. Dr.
Stoker observes that under the oxygen treatment as under ordinary dressings many chronic ulcers having rapidly healed to a considerable extent remain stationary just short of complete repair. The one advantage of the method is the avoidance of any irritating dressing in actual contact with the sore. Churchill. 1897.?The introductory part of this work calls for no comment, it consists of truisms that we are all prepared to accept, in fact we have always laid it down that the doctor and the nurse may be two great dangers to the lying-in woman, and the success of their work depends in a great measure on their Proper appreciation of their duties, as laid down by all modern Writers on obstetrics and teachers of that branch of medicine, put we cannot agree with all the statements in chap. 2. For ^stance, in reference to the trouble of parturition, it is not a ^ct that "every married woman has to go through it." Again, at the first interview of patient and doctor a more soothing mode ?f handling the prospective mother is desirable than the author's recommendation of eliciting at that time the history of hysteria 0r epilepsy. Chap. 4 contains some startling statements : we are told it is necessary to pass the hand through the vagina in order to turn. I n most cases all that is required is to pass a uuger and turn by the bi-polar method. We agree with the author in considering there is great abuse in the use of instruments, but we do not agree with him in condemning axis-traction *n suitable cases.
We have succeeded with axis-traction torceps after failing with ordinary long forceps. In the routine Questions to be asked after confinement the very important one concerning the condition of the bladder is omitted. We consider the author allows his patient to be up too soon. The chapter on nurses and midwives is a distinct proof of the Necessity for legislation, as the ignorance here detailed of their ^?rk shows the necessity for their education and registration, -he chapter on antiseptics is good, and we consider that Dr. ro\vn is right in preferring perchloride of mercury to any other disinfectant for the hands and instruments, but as a yaginal disinfectant after labour the use of iodoform pessaries ls all sufficient. ??k-making, this publication is about the worst we have seen. " Perineal Operations."?the lettering on the back?becomes on the side of the cover, " Lawson Tait's Perineal Operations," tofinally blossom out on the title page into the form as given at the head of this notice. Inside there is about a page of preface by Mr. Tait, and then, after about two pages of introduction by the author, the dissertation on "Tait:s Perineorrhaphy" occupies less than 16 pages, and is followed by 43 pages on " Curettage of the Uterus," and 40 pages of publishers' advertisements. Lawson Tait's operation, however, is very well described and the diagrams are real aids to the understanding of its various steps. Curettage of the uterus is an operation not to be undertaken so frequently or for so many diseases as recommended by the author, for according to him almost every operation that the uterus has to undergo requires to be supplemented by curettage. In this respect we consider this book to be highly dangerous.
The whole essay reflects the evil tendency of some gynaecologists not to give nature a chance-Although in suitable cases and by experienced men curettage is a valuable proceeding, the ordinary doctor had better be content to leave it alone. Approved forms for registers, pocket-books, and notices are supplied, and judicious hints are given as to the conduct of work, and the Inspector's dealing with the public-The medical notes are sufficiently full to be helpful, without unnecessary detail; from them the intelligent inspector could readily gather when it is necessary to call in the aid of the medical officer. ^habitants, who are chiefly Mexicans of Spanish descent, ndians, and a few hundred natives of the United States and ^reat Britain. The streets are generally wide, but badly-paved aild ill-kept. One of the most remarkable features of the city ls the number of splendid residences, built round "patios," or courtyards, in which are bright and sweet-smelling flowers, tall Palms and fountains. But the most beautiful city in the world Can be spoiled by imperfect drainage, and this was pre-^ninently the case here; for, prior to 1895, the sanitary conion was in a deplorable state : as there was little or no sewerand cesspools and public dunghills were the order of the ay> while in the streets were deposited all kinds of filth and ?arbage. The consequence, naturally, was that in 1893 the ?rtality of the city reached the high figure of 20,428, or 58.3 r er thousand, and, of these deaths, typhus fever was responsible ,.r 322, typhoid for 4, smallpox for 50, scarlatina for 26, and , Phtheria for 12, the predominance of typhus over typhoid eing remarkable. At last the authorities bestirred themselves k the matter, and, mapping out the town into eight districts, ey sent an inspector, accompanied by a medical man, into Q?Ch, and, acting on their reports, they borrowed a large sum 1 rnoney in Europe, and constructed sewage works on the r est principles and on an extended scale, with the gratifying uh that the city is now one of the healthiest in America. The nursing information given in it is eminently practical, but the disinfection of the sick-room after the patient's removal is not a matter which should be left to the nurse. It is to be regretted that the space devoted to this subject was not employed in giving more minute details as to the treatment of infectious dejecta, and to the consideration of measures to secure the personal cleanliness and freedom from infection of the sick attendant. The too frequent occurrence of enteric fever amongst those nursing cases of this disease points to the fact that nurses, either from ignorance or carelessness, often perform the duties of personal and general disinfection in the most imperfect manner.
Transactions of the Clinical Society of London. Volume XXX. London: Longmans, Green, and Co. 1897.?An IndeX to the Transactions of the Clinical Society of London, Vols. I* ?XXX. London : Longmans, Green, and Co. 1898.?Thepresent volume is a collection of interesting papers, mostly on surgical cases, many of which, no doubt, gave rise to much important discussion. The book has a carefully-made index, and is in every way equal to the usual high standard of the previous volumes-Upon the completion of this volume the Society has issued an index of the whole series. In this instance the benefactor to his generation and to posterity is Dr. Archibald E. Garrod> upon whom the entire labour of preparing it has fallen. render our cordial thanks to him for it. Harrison, discusses the treatment of some forms of albuminuria by reni-puncture. The arguments are based on clinical obsef' vations, and the treatment is suggested for acute nephritis wi^1 much tension in the kidney and for chronic nephritis which is not improving otherwise. Mr. John D. Malcolm describeS twenty-six cases in which abdominal section was performed ^ second time. Three cases consist of growths in the seco_n ovary after unilateral oophorectomy. The remainder comprise various complications and accidents which have arisen. In al1 article upon the best methods of removing large calculi fr01^ the bladder Mr. P. Freyer says that he has now almost c0lV pletely abandoned every other method of treatment of stone 1 favour of Bigelow's litholapaxy. He has only done seven cutting operations in his last three hundred cases, and in a series ? one hundred and six cases of litholapaxy he had only one ' The term, a large stone, is relative to the age of the patient andt experience of the operator. Dr. Haig gives reasons why he regards the uric acid diathesis as a myth. Mr. Mayo Robson spates cases of appendicitis with so-called general peritonitis lch recovered after operation. Mr. Bland Sutton reviews e question of wandering spleens. Dr. Samuel West, in an '?p, e Paper, speaks favourably of the prognosis of pneumothorax. Q/le Lettsomian lectures by Dr. de Havilland Hall on diseases the nose and throat in relation to general medicine comprise wVery thorough exposition of the subject well worth reading. j' ^urry Fen wick's paper on the value of the cystoscope in aucing the mortality from nephrectomy has been already pub- Langdon-Down, Thomas Spencer Wells, George and Edward Ballard. The interesting account of so tion ^ meclical and surgical giants gives the volume an excepvalue.
The following 415 pages contain the usual the Ure communications read at various meetings throughout reco^ear: among these we may especially notice a case of B<w]fry after operation on perforated typhoid ulcer by Mr. foraf ^' ,also a case of laparotomy for simulated typhoid per-Utje ?n in which no lesion was found, and recovery was Urinee ul* A paper on the presence of typhoid bacilli in the Urine ?uSgests the necessity for antiseptic treatment of the ln all cases of typhoid fever.
XliTra^actions of the Association of American Physicians. Vol.
The" Philadelphia : Printed for the Association. 1897.?
^entan?Ual meeting of this Association of one hundred and ve physicians of eminence is quite a noteworthy event, at e volume recording the proceedings of the meeting, held Q^hington in 1897, is before us. The president, Dr. J. M. to as?"S*a' remarks that " with everyone of us there is a mission pervades the volume throughout its five hundred pages, where we have the latest experiences of the serum test for typhoid fever, cases of gall-bladder infection in typhoid, the hepatic complications of typhoid fever, the effect of the cold bath treatment in favouring elimination of urea in typhoid, and many other topics giving the experience of many of the best observers of our time. The use of the " fluoroscope " in the diagnosis o* diseases of the heart and lungs shows that the use of the Rontgen rays need not be limited to the surgeon or to pins and buttons.
Transactions of the Michigan State Medical Society. Vol-XXI. Grand Rapids: Published by the Society. 1897vT Among the papers in this volume we may refer to Dr. J. &?' Kellogg's article on his method of shortening the round Uga" ments, which he has employed in 591 cases. In his last 200 he records less than 2 per cent, of failures, though a certain pr?" portion of the patients still complain of the backache and other pains after the operation. These he regards as due in part other troubles complicating retroversion. Dr. Roswell Par| sums up our present knowledge of the nature and cause 0 cancer.
There is also a noteworthy group of papers by variou5 A few surgeons have had even nine or ten consecuti ^ cases each of recoveries. In advanced cases, if the patient otherwise in good health, he considers that gastro-enterostonl) is not a very dangerous proceeding, while the relief from sune _ ing which it gives is great and striking. The numerous ?Pe^e tions which have been performed on moribund patients ha caused a wrong idea of the danger of the operation. In she ' he is most hopeful as to the results of surgical treatme in future.
Transactions of the New Hampshire Medical Society. Concoi^j Ira C Evans. 1897.?Perhaps the most noteworthy PaPerert this volume is that by the late Judge Foster on " Medical Testimony." The courts of New Hampshire have abando^( the attempt to define "unsound mind" legally, and no 1? regard delusions, or a knowledge of right and wrong, as teSt3| but the sole enquiry is?Was the act the product of nie^Le disease ? The president, Dr. Abel P. Richardson, took Old as the subject of his address, and dealt with it in a PraC way.
He dismissed the claims to longevity such as those forward for Parr and others, and considers that no ?^e ^ England or the United States has ever reached the age of papers are also given on neurasthenia ; on acute abdominal Sections, with special reference to the time for calling in the Surgeon ; the application of the X-rays ; degeneration of eyes ; and on a few other subjects, several of which resemble clinical ectures of a post-graduate course.
Proceedings of the Philadelphia County Medical Society. Vol. VII. Philadelphia: Printed for the Society. 1896.?This ?Jume, of 254 double-column pages, is a record of much good Jv?rk, done by good observers. A paper by Dr. Anders on yphoid fever as a complication and a sequel of influenza may ??? especial interest in this neighbourhood ; but no bacteriot gical observations were undertaken, and none were required ,Verify the diagnosis of typhoid fever: it is difficult to see on ground the cases were considered to be influenza at all, . u why they should not be accepted as simple cases of enteric a SI?W and irregular development. There is, however, no priori reason why a patient who is incubating typhoid fever , ay not have an intercurrent attack of passing febrile influenza, t there appears to be no absolute connection between them, d We think it most undesirable that they should be mentally s?ciated, lest the diagnosis of the minor may disguise the set of the major malady. Dr. Joseph Price's cases of typhoid r*?ration, three of them, all terminating in successful recovery, j Ve encouragement to persevere in a practice which is commonly ^ ss successful: he pleads for early interference in these cases, s delay is fatal, and adds that " early diagnosis, early operation, ^ lnstaking, rapid work will save many lives." A paper by tir' Stengel on the treatment of pernicious anaemia emphasises .e utility of arsenic; but he finds that bone marrow has not *** very satisfactory results. We think that iron is a drug Q?llch has been abundantly proved to be harmful in this form for a, and that it should be reserved for the simple chlorotic The practice of giving iron and arsenic together as a i tine practice in anaemia is not grounded on scientific f0 ^ ge, and on the evidence before us should be reserved see ^0se doubtful cases where a definite diagnosis does not Possible and where neither of the two drugs Mistered separately gives good results. j^e ^ansactions of the American Pediatric Society. Vol. VIII. CQ ^rinted from The A r chives of Pediatrics. 1896.?Of the numerous vai niunications published in this volume perhaps the most by . an exhaustive report on cases of diphtheria treated ?> antitoxin, to which reference was made in the Journal for theCein^er' I^96. There are also two interesting papers giving sp *?ults of careful work on puncture of the subarachnoid ti0 Ce ln cases of meningitis, and another on "The Pasteurizacas ? The remaining papers are mainly the reports of of special interest. Of the papers on " Lumbar Puncture Subarachnoid Space," one is by Dr. Wentworth, the work emanating from the pathological laboratory of the Harvard Medical School, the other by Dr. Jennings, of Detroit. The latter gives the result of the examination of twenty-one cases, the former of twenty-nine. Dr. Wentworth remarks that the majority of practitioners, of course, are not in a position to make cultures or inoculation experiments, and that the staining for bacilli and other organisms is tedious. He thinks, however, that a good deal can be learnt from the character of the cerebrospinal fluid. In the normal state it is perfectly clear and deposits no cells, whereas in cases of meningitis it is invariably cloudy. This cloudiness is caused by cells, which examined microscopically appear to be generally small round cells with a single nucleus, whereas in the purulent forms of meningitis polynuclear leucocytes are more numerous. In his paper on " The Pasteurization of Milk," Dr. Freeman considers that so high a temperature as 750 C. need not be adopted; that between 65 and 70? C. is sufficient to destroy almost all the micro-organises present in milk, including the tubercle, typhoid, and diphtheria bacilli.
At this lower temperature the taste is not altered and the chemical changes to be avoided are not set up.
Transactions of the American Laryngological Association-New York: D. Appleton and Company. 1897.?These transactions may be taken as very fairly representative of American laryngology, and afford clear evidence of the scientific character of the work that is being done in this speciality in the Hemisphere. A paper by Dr. Jonathan Wright especially attracts our attention, not because it is intrinsically of greater excellence than many of the others,but because it deals with the much-debate question of tuberculous infection through the tonsils. ' j investigations of Baumgarten, Sims Woodhead, Kruckmann, an others prove pretty conclusively that the bacilli do get through the epithelium of the throat and into the cervical lymphatics 111 tuberculous subjects and in animals fed on tuberculous fo? Were it not for clinical experience, therefore, and such investiga* tions as those of Dr. Hodenpyl,it would seem extremely probabJe that the lymphoid tissues of the throat should contain tubercle* Dr. Hodenpyl examined about two hundred sections for baci and found none, nor anything like tubercle in tonsils." Dr. Wrigjlg therefore repeated Dieulafoy's experiments, and five instancy of removal of enlarged faucial tonsils, and seven of Post'na,S J " adenoids " gave negative results for tubercle when inoculate in guinea-pigs. Yet another case of clinically apparent tuberc of the tonsil gave positive results, and afforded characteris^ evidence of tubercle histologically. After examining the of other observers on this question, Dr. Wright is incline^ both from clinical and pathological evidence, to agree ^ ^ Dr. Hodenpyl, when he says that tuberculous amygdalitis 1 rare affection, and that the tonsils are rarely the seat of Prinl^e(l inoculation.
Dr. Wright also gives an excellent colon feproduction of a stained microscopical section, showing the ^filtration of the epithelium of the larynx by tubercle bacilli, and thus proving the possibility of direct infection by this Method, a point of very great pathological import.
The Edinburgh Medical Journal. New Series. Vol. III.
Edinburgh : Young J. Pentland. 1898.?This volume contains niany papers of more than ephemeral interest and importance. Those by Dr. Frederick T. Roberts on the systematic physical Examination of the chest are of special value. He points out that ' while physical examination still holds its own, on the whole, in theory, it cannot be questioned that in practice, as it is carried out a large proportion of cases, it might as well be omitted altogether," and he pleads for a plan of procedure which aims fix attention upon the several objccts or purposes for which Physical examination is intended," rather than a study of the Physical signs under each method.
Annales de la Societo Beige de Chirurgie. Sixieme Annee, ruxelles: Henri Lamertin. 1898.?We are glad to have this Publication on our exchange-list. The opening numbers of the *",Urrent volume contain articles on ligature of the external carotid, he surgery of the liver and kidney and other subjects, confuted by eminent Continental surgeons.